Photograph of advertisements on ore wagons at Tonopah Railroad Carnival, Tonopah (Nev.), early 1900s

Photograph of people seated in stands at Tonopah Railroad Carnival, Tonopah (Nev.), early 1900s

Dr. Donald Moyer was born on a farm in Central Illinois. His parents were farmers, but moved to Decatur, Illinois, when Donald was six. Consequently, he went to grade school and high school in Decatur. He then earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. His master's and PhD were taken in psychology at the University of Chicago. Dr. Moyer has had a long and illustrious career. After college he helped raise money and students for the University of Chicago and then moved to Portales, New Mexico as director of finance for higher education in the state government. He next served as president of Eastern New Mexico University for five years. From there he came to UNLV in 1965 as chancellor/president, a position he held for 3 years, and worked in marriage and family counseling for almost 30 years right here in Las Vegas. He spent a year in the Los Angeles area doing commercial psychology, and then became vice president at University of Alaska, working there for 7 years. While president, Dr. Moyer focused much of his energy getting regents, community members, and the faculty and student body to recognize the needs of the university. His wife's contributions to this effort were invaluable, as she made their home a warm and inviting place. By bringing these people together into a cohesive unit, monies could be raised to add buildings, staff, and schools that would enhance the quality of education, raise the reputation of the university, and develop UNLV into a leading institution. Much of Dr. Moyer's work during his time as president was "emancipating" UNLV from UNR. This meant creating a faculty senate working only for UNLV, having regents who really represented UNLV, and finding people in the community who would volunteer time and money to carry out the vision of a great university. Today Dr. Moyer and his wife enjoy living in Las Vegas. They stay current on what's happening at UNLV by attending meetings for retired faculty and administrators. Their two daughters have moved to Las Vegas as well, so they have a rich social and family life. He still practices marriage and family counseling, and sees UNLV as a school which will continue to grow in reputation and stature.